Patriots vs. Steelers: Why the Battle of the Trenches Will Determine the War

Although it may seem to be on another level than any other contest, the AFC showdown between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers will once again come down to the battle of the trenches.

It has in the past, and it will again in 2011. There are several contributing factors to the importance of the battles in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Key Steelers Actives and Inactives

With Casey Hampton active for the Steelers, their front seven may have an easier time shutting down the run than they have recently. He's a nose tackle in a similar mold to Vince Wilfork in that he has really mastered the two-gapping requirements of a nose tackle, even though the Steelers generally run more of a one-gap system.

His ability to two-gap helps them tremendously in the running game, as there are fewer holes to hit for the running back, specifically up the middle.

On the other hand they will be absent James Harrison, and although LaMarr Woodley is the team's leader in sacks to this point, make no mistake that Harrison is crucial to the Steelers' pass rush. The Steelers could be in for a long day on defense on what would have been a tough out for Pittsburgh's front seven anyway.

Dan Connolly and the Protection Calls

So far, Connolly has filled in very nicely for Dan Koppen against some tough defenses, especially over the past two weeks. Although the Patriots offense has struggled at times in those games, this seems like the perfect scenario for Brady to give his back-up center some helpful insight into what the Steelers do. Brady's immense familiarity with the Steelers' schemes could be put to great use to help Connolly get it right.

After all, Pittsburgh doesn't change much from year to year in their defensive scheme anyway. As Bill Belichick said, "why should they? They lead the league in defense every year."

The only problem is, they still can't get it done against Brady.

Steelers Defense Relies on Sacks

The Steelers have ranked first or second in sacks the past three straight seasons, and in the top 10 in five of the past seven years.

Pittsburgh's defense had 24 sacks through eight games last year—exactly half of their season total (48)—but this year they have just 17 through seven games.

Their inability to bring Brady down last season was a huge factor in New England's ability to move the ball at will through the air.

If the Steelers aren't getting sacks, they're not making as many stops on pass defense. They have only picked off two passes this season thus far and their inability to force those turnovers has led to a defensive passer rating of 81.0, which is quite a bit higher than we're used to seeing from them. This, after posting 73.8 in 2010 and 70.8 in 2009.

That's also up against young quarterbacks like Blaine Gabbert, Curtis Painter and Kevin Kolb who are highly unfamiliar with the scheme and the level of talent on the Steelers defense.

Patriots Offense Relies on Keeping Brady Clean

Keeping Tom Brady clean is always a key to victory for the Patriots, but especially so against the Steelers. Just as much as the Steelers relies on bringing opposing quarterbacks to the ground, New England relies on keeping Brady upright.

The Patriots have been as outstanding at keeping their quarterback clean as they've ever been. They had given up 13 sacks through eight games in 2010, and have given up just 11 through seven this year.

One way New England was able to keep the Steelers away from Brady last year was in spreading out the defense. Brady is masterful at picking apart a blitz, especially one that's as vanilla and predictable as the "Blitzburgh" defense of Dick LeBeau.

Steelers Defense Unusually Bad Against the Run This Year

After ranking first in every rushing category that matters in 2010, the Steelers have been uncharacteristically sluggish against the run this year. They gave up just three yards per carry in 2010, are yielding 4.4 this year and have given up nearly 75 percent of their total rushing yards allowed from 2010 already this season.

They've given up as many rushing touchdowns through seven games (5) as they did in all of 2010. 

The Patriots have to be careful of falling into a trap where they focus too heavily on exploiting Pittsburgh's weaknesses against the run. New England must play the game at their tempo. That being said, it should be comforting to know that if they need to take the air out of the ball at the end of the game the way they did with BenJarvus Green-Ellis against the Jets a couple of weeks ago, it's something they're capable of doing.

Patriots Front Seven Dominated Pittsburgh's Offensive Line Last Year

Five sacks of Roethlisberger in 2010 were the most he took in any game. This year, he's taken three sacks four times already and five sacks twice.

If the Patriots are able to expose matchups along the Steelers offensive line the way they were able to last year, this could be a long day for Roethlisberger. The Steelers QB averages 8.3 yards per attempt, but nets just 7.1. Those sacks make a big difference at the end of the day.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @ErikFrenz.